Reference no: EM133191281

Assignment - Counseling a Patient with Genetic Concerns

Select one of the following conditions as the focus for your final paper and visit the Websites below to learn all that you can about your selected disorder.

Disorders with Heritability Issues

Social Phobia

Obsessive-Compulsive Anxiety Disorder

Autism

Tourette's Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder

Bipolar Disorder (manic-depressive)

Borderline Personality Disorder

Schizophrenia

Alcohol Dependence

Anti-Social Personality Disorder

Dementia of the Alzheimer Type

Helpful Websites -

1. Mentalhealth - A resource for understanding various disorders and possible genetic issues associated with these disorders.

2. Genome - Provides a talking glossary of genetic terms to help people without scientific backgrounds understand the terms and concepts used in genetic research.

Counseling Scenario - You are seeing a client who is concerned about the inheritability of the disorder (the one you have chosen from the above list) in future children. More specifically, the client tells you that the disorder in question was diagnosed in a parent and may have also been present in a grandparent but never diagnosed. The client is particularly concerned that because they will pass on genetic material, their child or children will inevitably inherit the disorder. Second, but also important, is the client's belief that since the parent's disorder was never successfully treated, and there is evidence that the disorder has a strong genetic foundation, there is fear that nothing can be done should a child inherit the disorder. Your job as the counselor is to explore these concerns with the client, address them drawing upon your expertise gained in researching the disorder in question. You may also consider referring the client for genetic counseling.

Required elements of the paper - Describe how you would proceed with the following in counseling a concerned parent-to-be who has a parent with the target disorder. For each element in this assignment, listed below, be sure to address aspects of the target disorder to and its relevance in the counseling process with respect to the target disorder. Don't just describe the text-book approach without including your thinking regarding how each stage of the counseling process might apply to the given scenario with which you are working.

1. Family History and Diagnosis - verify psychiatric diagnoses in affected individuals.

What approach would you use to obtain an accurate family history? Whom would you interview, what interviewing techniques might you use in obtaining the history, and how would you use data obtained in the interview? How would you go about verifying the diagnosis of your client's parent? Be a specific as possible.

2. Risk of Recurrence - Is there evidence in the research literature regarding the risks for inheriting this disorder? If not is there anything that can be deduced from other similar disorders that may serve as an example?

3. Evaluation of the client-What approach would you use to assess the client's emotional and intellectual capacity prior to proceeding with counseling. What is involved and how might the particular disorder in question shape issues and concerns that may emerge for the client and the counselor?

4. The Risk/Burden Ratio - assess client's understanding and willingness to negotiate various risks and burdens with respect to the heritability of this condition.

With regard to the disorder being discussed, how might you, the counselor, go about weighing the risk/burden ratio with the client? What are your concerns as the counselor? How do you proceed as the counselor in working through these concerns?

5. Development of a Plan of Action -What approach would you use to help the client arrive at a decision most consistent with his/her priorities and world-view. What is a likely plan of action for the parent-to-be, given the issues and concerns likely to be associated with the target disorder? How likely is it that you might refer the client for specific genetic counseling on this issue to a certified genetics counselor? Explain the basis for this decision and for your responses to other questions in this section.

6. Follow-up - continued assessment of the client's understanding of pertinent information and follow-up of life events.

Provide a brief follow-up plan for this client based upon the considerations included in the first six steps and any other concerns that occur to you.